Where is the World Grand Prix darts? The World Grand Prix is held at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester

The World Grand Prix is one of the most exciting darts tournaments on the calendar, with 32 of the world’s best players competing over the double-start format. First held in 1998, the World Grand Prix is organised by the PDC (Professional Darts Corporation) every October and is the only competition on the professional tour where players must start and finish each leg on a double.

The 2026 edition of the World Grand Prix will be the 29th staging of the tournament and will take place over seven days from September 28 - October 4. Luke Littler is the defending champion, following his victory in Leicester 12 months ago, with no fewer than five other former World Grand Prix winners (Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen, James Wade, Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton) also in the line up.

The World Grand Prix darts tournament is the third longest-running major event on the PDC calendar. It has been held every year since 1998 and is considered one of the most difficult competitions to win. Phil Taylor won an unprecedented 11 World Grand Prix titles during his career, whilst Michael van Gerwen (six titles) and James Wade (two titles) are the only other players to have won this event more than once.

The World Grand Prix is the fourth ranking major event of the season. The World Masters, UK Open and the World Matchplay are the first three ranking majors held each year, with the World Grand Prix marking the start of a busy end of the year with the European Championship, Grand Slam of Darts, Players Championship Finals and PDC World Darts Championship all set to take place between October and January.

Players must hit twice as many doubles to get their hands on the World Grand Prix trophy

The World Grand Prix is played under the unique double-start format where players must start each leg by hitting a double. A player will only start scoring points in a leg once they hit a double, with the points value of the double counting as the first scoring dart.

In the early years of the World Grand Prix, the tournament was played under various formats. The inaugural staging in 1998 was a straight knockout played over the set play format, but with each set contested over the best of three legs. In 1999, the tournament started off with a group stage, but each set was played over the more traditional best of five legs.

In 2000, the World Grand Prix reverted to being a straight knockout event with 24 players and eight seeds, who all received a bye through to the second round. The following year the field increased to 32 players and the eight seeds joined the rest of the players in the first round.

The number of sets a player must win has been altered several times over the years, with the PDC announcing in April 2024 that the 2024 tournament would see the semi-finals and final played over a longer format.

Here is a breakdown of the World Grand Prix’s format for 2026:-

• Round 1 – best of three sets
• Round 2 – best of five sets
• Quarter-finals – best of five sets
• Semi-finals – best of nine sets
• Final – best of 11 sets

The World Grand Prix follows a similar qualification structure to the World Matchplay and is considered one of the most difficult events to qualify for. The top 16 players on the PDC world rankings (known for sponsorship reasons as the Werner Rankings Ladder) and the next top 16 players on the PDC ProTour rankings (on a specified cut-off date in September) make up the 32 player line-up each year.

The 2026 edition will see the top 16 players from the main rankings seeded with their seeding positions based on where they sit in the rankings. The 16 ProTour qualifiers enter the tournament as the non-seeded players. 

The World Grand Prix darts 2026 lineup looks set to be one of the strongest yet, with the back-to-back PDC world champion Luke Littler joined by the likes of Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton and James Wade. The list of provisional ProTour qualifiers includes former world champion Rob Cross, plus three exciting debutants in Kevin Doets, Niels Zonneveld and Sebastian Bialecki.

Luke Littler and Luke Humphries contested the 2025 World Grand Prix final

The prize money for the World Grand Prix has increased many times during its near 30-year history. The first edition of the World Grand Prix in 1998 had a prize fund of £38,000, including £9,000 for the winner. The total prize pot has risen several times since then, with the latest one coming this year when the prize fund increases to £750,000, with £150,000 going to the champion.

All of the prize money from the World Grand Prix is added to the Werner Rankings Ladder – the official world rankings of the PDC. Mike De Decker won his first major title at the 2024 World Grand Prix and broke into the world's top 32 for the first time. However, 'The Real Deal' has not qualified for this year's tournament in Leicester and is now expected to drop down the rankings, as a result of being unable to defend the £120,000 he received for his title triumph two years ago.

Below is the World Grand Prix darts prize money breakdown for 2026:-

Winner - £150,000

Runner-up - £80,000

Semi-finalists - £50,000

Quarter-finalists - £35,000

Round 2 (last 16) - £20,000

Round 1 (last 32) - £7,500

The World Grand Prix has a long and rich history in darts that dates to the late-1990s. The first staging of the tournament was held in 1998 and saw Phil Taylor beat Rod Harrington 13-8 to win the title.

Taylor would go on to win a record-setting 11 World Grand Prix titles over the next 15 years, with his last success coming in 2013. More history has been written in this prestigious competition with the World Grand Prix marking the first PDC major victories for several players including Alan Warriner-Little, Colin Lloyd, Michael van Gerwen, Daryl Gurney, Luke Humphries and Mike De Decker.

The World Grand Prix has been held in five different venues over the years with the Citywest Hotel, in Dublin the event’s home for 19 years from 2001 to 2019. Before moving to the Irish capital, the tournament’s first two editions in 1998 and 1999 were held at the Casino Rooms in Rochester, England. The World Grand Prix then moved to Ireland with the Crosbie Cedars Hotel, in Rosslare, hosting the 2000 tournament.

In 2020, the pandemic saw many of the major darts events held behind closed doors and away from their long-standing homes. The 2020 World Grand Prix took place without a crowd inside the Ricoh Arena, in Coventry, before moving to its current home at the Mattioli Arena, in Leicester the following year.

Phil Taylor has won the World Grand Prix a record 11 times

Here is a list of World Grand Prix darts winners since its inaugural staging in 1998. Phil Taylor dominated the competition during his playing career, winning 11 of the first 16 editions, whilst James Wade and Michael van Gerwen are the only other multi-time champions. Luke Littler became the 12th different winner with his success at the Mattioli Arena in 2025.

World Grand Prix roll of honour

1998 – Phil Taylor

1999 – Phil Taylor

2000 – Phil Taylor

2001 – Alan Warriner-Little

2002 – Phil Taylor

2003 – Phil Taylor

2004 – Colin Lloyd

2005 – Phil Taylor

2006 – Phil Taylor

2007 – James Wade

2008 – Phil Taylor

2009 – Phil Taylor

2010 – James Wade

2011 – Phil Taylor

2012 – Michael van Gerwen

2013 – Phil Taylor

2014 – Michael van Gerwen

2015 – Robert Thornton

2016 – Michael van Gerwen

2017 – Daryl Gurney

2018 – Michael van Gerwen

2019 – Michael van Gerwen

2020 – Gerwyn Price

2021 – Jonny Clayton

2022 – Michael van Gerwen

2023 – Luke Humphries

2024 - Mike De Decker

2025 - Luke Littler

Brendan Dolan was the first player to throw a nine-dart leg at the World Grand Prix in 2011

October 8, 2011 is a date that will forever be remembered in the darts record books. On that day, Brendan Dolan made history as the first player to throw a televised nine-dart leg in the double-start format.

Dolan’s historic feat happened during his semi-final victory against James Wade in the 2011 World Grand Prix, as he started the leg by hitting double 20, followed by six treble 20s, a treble 17 and a bullseye to complete the perfect leg. The Northern Irishman also adopted the nickname of ‘The History Maker’ after the tournament.

More history was made at the 2014 World Grand Prix when James Wade and Robert Thornton both threw nine-dart legs in their second-round clash. It was the first, and to date only, time that both players have thrown the perfect leg in a televised match.

Dolan, Wade and Thornton remain the only three players to have struck perfection at the World Grand Prix. The double-start format makes completing a nine-dart leg even more difficult as you have to start the leg on double 17, double 20 or the bullseye and hit the double with your first dart.

Luke Littler added the World Grand Prix to his growing list of PDC major titles with a victory in Leicester last year. ‘The Nuke’ produced a ruthless display to defeat his rival Luke Humphries 6-1 in the final of the double-start event and become the first teenager to win the World Grand Prix.

The reigning PDC world champion had lost to Rob Cross in the first round of his World Grand Prix debut in 2024, but went all the way 12 months later overcoming Gian van Veen, Mike De Decker, Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton and then Humphries in the final.

Littler’s first-round clash with van Veen proved to be a historic clash, as van Veen set a new record average in a World Grand Prix match of 106.47 in a 2-0 defeat to the teenage sensation. The previous record had stood for 24 years when Alan Warriner-Littler averaged 106.45 in the opening round of the 2001 event.

In the quarter-finals, Littler survived a scare against Price as he rallied back from 2-0 down in sets to win 3-2 in a match which saw ‘The Nuke’ produce skin-saving 154 and 152 checkouts, the latter in the deciding leg when Price was waiting on a two-dart finish for the match.

“This is not the easiest tournament to win and this week has been so tough,” reflected Littler, who also missed the bull for a nine darter during the final against Humphries. “Now I have picked the trophy up, I can tick it off and there’s not many left!”

The next edition of the World Grand Prix is almost upon us as 32 of the world’s best players get ready to battle it out over the double-start format. The 2026 World Grand Prix takes place from September 28 - October 4 at the Mattioli Arena, in Leicester, and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland.

Players Championship title winners Kevin Doets and Sebastian Bialecki are among the debutants in the World Grand Prix in 2026. The defending champion Luke Littler returns for his third appearance in the tournament, with the likes of Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen amongst the leading contenders for the title.

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Pictures: PDC